We Are the Willows tour diary, Vol. 5

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Driving into Boston is a real mess.  The streets change names all the time and change directions all the time.  So, just when you think you have it figured out, and you turn off a street to turn around, you end up in a whole other mess.  Luckily my dad Google-mapped the venue and gave me step-by-step instructions...and tid-bits about the city.  ("Wow Pete, there's a nice river a few blocks away.  I bet there are some good bike trails, depending on how many Democrats there are there, he-he-he, you should really check that out.  Oh yeah, turn left")

I made a joke at the show about Harvard.  I said, "So, is the entrance exam to get into Harvard getting to Harvard?"  And there was dead silence.  My dad thought it was funny when I tried it out on him.

Here's a sweet band called, THE DEVIL AND A PENNY at TT The Bear's in Cambridge, MA.  That joint has, by far, the coolest name.  It's named after a guinea pig.

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Next I played in Worcester, MA and became familiar with the saying, "Masshole." I played at the Lucky Dog Music Hall which was a neat joint. Erick, the dude who owns the joint is a super dude. He even took me to another bar that had an old speakeasy in the basement.

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The word, "masshole" refers to folks in Massachusetts who are, in fact, assholes from Massachusetts.  I encountered two of these.  After loading out of the Lucky Dog, which was almost empty because all three of the local bands didn't show up, I was yelled at by a Masshole from across the street.  "Hey!  You neva' been to Massachusetts before!?!?  Why you got a winter hat on you fuckin' pussy!?!?!"

Then, after crossing the street, loading my stuff into the van, another masshole rolls down his window and says, in reference to my gear being in the street a little bit, "Hey, get the fuck out of the way!"  Then he turned to his gal pal, laughed, and they drove off.  Weird.

Here I am.  Living the dream in Worcester (pronounced like a 4 year old saying, "rooster").

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I was happy to get out of Wooooster.  I then went to Connecticut to play at a joint called, THE SPACE.  The show was really fun.  I played with a great band called, HEIRLOOMS and I met up with some folks I played with in Vermont, RAIANNE RICHARDS and MARK MANDEVILLE.  It was great seeing them again.

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After that it was off to New York City!  The show I had booked fell through so I hung out with my friend Joe all weekend, seein' the sights.

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I spent four days in NYC and only spent about $30.  I felt pretty good about that.  At these little corner stores you can buy a 24 oz. Coors regular for $1.25!  I took full advantage of that.

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After a nice weekend in NYC I got set for my trip to Philadelphia.  A quick note, I don't have a fancy phone.  I have a dinosaur phone.  It rules, but it leaves me taking really silly measures to get to where i need to go.  Like taking a picture of a Google map with my camera to have a map of my route.

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Philadelphia was great.  There were a bunch of folks there at the GREEN LINE CAFE and couple of great bands that played with me.  It was certainly one of my favorite shows on this trip.

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Now I am off to camp in a Wal-Mart parking lot and spend some time at the beach in Delaware. More travel stories to come. 


Previously:

We Are the Willows tour diary, Vol. 1
We Are the Willows tour diary, Vol. 2
We Are the Willows tour diary, Vol. 3
We Are the Willows tour diary, Vol. 4